Executive Director, Kathy Jackson, offers insights into the outreach and impact of this community-focused organization, dedicated to serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Her involvement with Arc began in her hometown of Perry Florida in 1979; she has been involved here locally serving the St. Augustine community since 1984.
How does The Arc of The St. Johns serve and impact our community? My mission is to continually measure the needs of our community concerning people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and do our best to meet the need. St. Johns County has experienced a tremendous about of growth and our organization has grown along with it. Since 1984 I have seen a tremendous amount of growth in what is now being diagnosed as autism. In all cases it requires the assistance of behavioral services which is a department in our agency that has continued to grow.
How many St. Johns County residents are you typically serving at any given time? The current number of people served in adult services is around 127 and in children’s services we average about 12.
What’s one program or initiative the public might not know that The ARC of The St. Johns offers? In the past couple of years we have expanded services to children and their families in the public school system with after school care so that families can continue to work. This service is probably one that the public doesn’t know about, as well as our children’s program which is a charter school and serves children ages 3-5 with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
How many group homes do you have scattered through St. Johns county and how do these homes function? We now operate 10 group homes which are scattered throughout our county and we are one of very few agencies that offer behavioral support and nursing services. Many years ago zoning was passed that allowed us to open homes in regular neighborhoods. The number of residents are limited to six. This allows our people to spend their lives in home-like settings and enjoy all of the amenities that the general population enjoys.
How can the community support your organization? What’s one of your greatest needs? Our greatest need is what we call friend raising. The majority of our funding comes from government sources which the Governor decides initially through his budget, then it goes to the legislative branch during session. We try to stay in touch with our representatives to make sure they know we are good stewards of the tax payers money That is a very difficult task as you know there are lots of needs everywhere, but we try to reiterate that the people we serve came into the world with a disability or acquired the disability before the age of 18. Sometimes families are overwhelmed with their child’s need and have to turn to the government for their support. This is particularly true for aging families where they physically can no longer care for their adult child’s needs. Unfortunately the majority of our people don’t vote so we have to be their voice. Our friends in the community can help us with this struggle by letting their representatives know of our needs.
(The following questions are answered by Lynne Funcheon; Director of Community Services)
Tell us about the Transition Training program. Does this act as a bridge to enter into employment? The St. Johns Community Campus is a transition program for individuals 18-22 with varying forms of disabilities. We are a St. Johns County Public school that, because of our charter status, can offer a non-traditional, vocational focused, curriculum. Our students actively participate in 17 different community-based training sites that enable them to get real hands-on job experience in very small groups. This experience is geared towards interests and talents and can range from food service to construction or secretarial. Our students also give back to their communities by working at places such as the St. Francis house, Betty Griffin, and working with elderly homebound. Our goal is to have the students employed in the last year of school and make a smooth transition from school/training-based activities to paid employment and eventual independence. We have an 80 percent success rate for students becoming employed.
What is the goal of the apprenticeship program? An apprenticeship is arranged for students wishing to gain employment in a more skilled profession but who are unable to meet the academic requirements to obtain the certifications. The student can then gain “on the job” experience with the hope that the business will hire them on and continue their training.
Tell us about the community program, Surf Quest. Surf Quest is a program we started because some of us love the ocean and are very tied into the surfing community. While our children were learning to surf one day, we discussed all the opportunities that are not available to the students in our school and children with disabilities in general. Since we had the students and the surfers we said “Let’s do it!” and Surf Quest was born. We didn’t realize the interest that it would generate and how quickly it would grow.
What has the outcome and impact of this program looked like? This has been one of the most incredible experiences. Not only have we put around 100 kids into the water, but they have established real friendships with the coaches who volunteer to come out and teach. My heart melts when my kids put a status up on Facebook and I look at all the Surf Quest family who responds and encourages. This may seem like a small thing, but believe me, it is huge for my kids! The other unexpected benefit has been watching the families of the surfers getting to know each other and watch their faces as their child gets on the board the first time or stands on the board as the entire crowd cheers! The faces of the people who are at Surf Quest tells the story from the surfer who has pure joy, the coach who is just as excited as the surfer, and the pride that is written on the parents’ faces.
To learn more about the work of The Arc of St. Johns within the local community, and how you can get involved, visit www.arcsj.org
To follow along with Surf Quest, click here.
